Risks We Take, Choices We Make
by Ana89mika
Summary: As I am unfamiliar with the very specific term, I would say this is sorta AU-ish. It's a one-shot. Kind of angsty with little parts of humor. General idea is that, Regina struggles with Emma's reckless attitude and penchant for putting herself at risk even though it is her job. There are no mentions of magic or any town whatsoever. Readers are free to create their own universe.


**A/N: It's mind numbing. This nervousness I feel when I foray in a fandom for the first time. **

**This is a one-shot attempt. I have trouble with limits. **

**So, I wanted to write something that didn't require me to explain the past or portray the future. **

**What I have here is an hour or two from two peoples' lives, as presumed by me. **

**I can only hope to have done justice to these characters. If not then, well, it wasn't intentional. **

**So be kind and overlook it, but not before telling me what I did wrong. I don't use a beta, so mistakes are all my responsibilities. **

**I have no right whatsoever over on these characters. This is merely a creative indulgence with a very selfish intent of improving my own craft.**

**I really hope you all enjoy. Oh, and keep an open mind before you begin reading. It helps with the perception, it's just a suggestion.**

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_Should I let my frightening fears, render me helpless,_

_Look back at all the chances, yet choose to be hapless,_

_Capable on the surface, my insides terribly crippled,_

_Stay, stagnate, in the life, that never once rippled._

_(No one famous, just mine)_

* * *

**Risks we take, Choices we make**

* * *

Emma heard the shift in their front door lock. She turned to look at the clock. A small smile flirted with her lips at the first echo of that very familiar click of heels. Just a matter of few seconds, now. She went back to watching those flames, hoping that this evening would be different than the last few evenings. Too quiet, too still. Disagreements and arguments, she could easily handle. At least, they talked, acted, reacted, interacted, or something. Silence...was the most excruciating punishment of all. That much calm was terrifyingly deafening to her soul.

Regina shut the door behind her and rested her back on it. She was bone tired. Her briefcase hung loosely from the tip of her fingers. She closed her eyes, waited for the soft sounds of movement but none came. She sighed in relief and simultaneously pushed herself off the door. After discarding her jacket and scarf carefully at the coat hanger she toed off her heels, releasing a soft, liberating hiss. Another three steps and she knew where Emma was. Naked feet, she padded inside the living area.

As suspected, Emma was in fact sitting by the fire, on the floor, her back propped against the front of the couch. She stood there watching her fiancée. Her features lit in the orange hue of the fire, her long, blond locks glowing like fine straws of pure, raw gold. Regina often wondered, if ever would come a day when she could go without being in awe of the radiating beauty of the younger woman, her lover, and her fiancée. And every time she wholeheartedly believed it to be an impossible possibility. Emma was frowning slightly, her eyes bright and shining but she had a faraway look in them. She bent to place her briefcase beside the couch and very faintly, so as not to startle Emma, cleared her throat.

Emma blinked, unsure of what interrupted her thoughts. Her eyes fell over her extended legs. The shadow gradually grew larger and larger and more prominent with every step. An irrational fear enveloped her heart for a fraction of a second even though she knew who that dark shade belonged to. She closed her eyes to compose herself and inhaled. She dropped her head back on the couch and opened her eyes.

Regina stood there, scrutinizing her dark silhouette as it morphed to form a shroud over Emma's extended legs. Her gaze then travelled over those limbs to the torso and ultimately to the pair of half-lidded eyes staring at her. She swallowed audibly.

Emma's lips parted, "hey." She frowned when she realized she could hardly hear herself. She licked her parched lips and cleared her throat. Pushing up a little straighter, she tried again, "hey." Imperceptibly, she nodded at the auditory level of her second try.

Regina smiled and descended down on her knees to sit on the floor facing Emma, never dropping the gaze. Her right elbow dug pointedly in the cushion where it rested. She extended the forearm and caressed Emma's cheek with the back of her fingers. "Hi," she exhaled. Her shoulders slumped as if the weight she had been carrying around forever was, finally at last non-existent.

Emma caught those fingers, extended them to their full length and captured it between her left cheek and the leather surface of the couch. Something akin to a volcano erupted inside her chest and she couldn't stop the whimper from tumbling out.

In an instant Regina was straddling Emma's legs, careful to keep all weight on her own knees. She cupped her lover's face and forced her to look straight ahead, at her. Her own heart was heavy with too many emotions, scurrying to all her nerve endings, diverging into a million conflicting sensations she didn't know how to contain. Last few days had certainly not been easy, not like their relationship was ever like a simple walk in the park. But this spell around, Regina knew she was having a particularly difficult time dealing with it. And, of course, Emma had been at the receiving end of her indecisiveness.

Regina had to choke back a gasp at the intensity betrayed in those hazel greens. A thin film of moisture formed the surface of those deep pools and the reflection of fire in them amplified that intensity. It was quite extraordinary actually; two opposing elements of nature, fire and water, reflecting, shimmering and merging, flickering and flowing with their individual strength, trying to conquer each other. Oh, how Emma's beauty always left her breathless!

"Emma," Regina whispered. "Darling, what is it?"

Emma visibly relaxed when she heard the word 'darling'. She knew she was going to sound childish but that was the beauty of their relationship. Regina knew her inside out; her quirks, her strengths, her weaknesses, her insecurities, everything there was to know about her. Both her hands found reprieve on the brunette's waist. Without moving a great deal, she pulled the other woman in. "I don't like it," Emma muttered. She leaned forward and placed her forehead against Regina's, looking in those chocolate browns, exposing all that she felt at that moment. "I hate it when you treat me like a roommate." Her breath hitched when all she wanted to do was cry, not speak. "You look at me but you don't, you talk to me but you don't, you acknowledge my touch, my existence, my physical presence but at the same time you just don't and I hate it." This time she couldn't stop herself from crying. Her body shook slightly and she pushed her face in Regina's neck, continuing to cry.

Regina was momentarily in shock. She didn't move, she couldn't move. A while later when she blinked, hot tears streaked down her cheeks. She desperately wanted to wrap her arms around Emma and shield her from all the hurt she had caused. She despised herself for being the reason of those soft cries, for being the cause of reducing this strong-willed woman down to a mess. She exhaled shakily and buried her face in the silky blond locks. "I am sorry. Sweetheart, I am so, so sorry," she kept repeating. Why couldn't she deal with her own issues without hurting Emma?

They both clung to each other and Regina rocked them back and forth; endlessly apologizing. Emma's cries transformed into sniffles a few minutes later. The brunette's neck was wet with proof of Emma's anguish and her skin absorbed every single morsel of it; a warped sense of just in her mind. Her lips brushed against the blonde's temple with yet another apology.

Emma sagged further and gulped down a groan of pain due to that movement. "Babe, it's okay," she mumbled, the silky material of Regina's shirt whispered over her dry lips. Closing her eyes, she concentrated on the dull thump of the brunette's heart beat just beneath her right cheek. She smiled; it wasn't just a sound to her. It could never be just a sound to her. It was the bond, the connection, it tethered to her beating heart. It was the confirmation for her that she was alive, that her heart was in fact pounding in tandem with Regina's. It was exhilarating and so damn frightening.

Regina didn't speak. She gave herself and Emma ample time to compose themselves. Her hands played with the blonde's hair, it was comforting. The feeling of those silky strands in between her fingers kept her from fidgeting.

Emma straightened, adorning a vibrant smile. Regina shifted back a little to provide the necessary space and blinked in confusion. Her lips parted but the words intended to come out, dissolved on her tongue. Emma chuckled at the look. She, very lovingly, cleared the remnants of dried tears from her lover's comically puzzled face. Then with the sleeves of her full-sleeved t-shirt she wiped at her own cheeks. Regina was still looking at her like she had just developed a second head. She laughed out.

Regina's mouth immediately closed and she frowned at the sudden change in the previously thick and depressing air. She scowled and eyed the blonde with an uninterested look. With her left eyebrow arched up just the right way, she growled. "What?"

Emma's insides churned deliciously. The deep husk of that throaty growl...was so positively sinister. Regina really didn't know how amazing every cadence of her speech was and that made it all the more delectable. "Nothing," she said softly with a wide smile. "Confusion looks good on you," she quipped and laughed again.

Regina was sure it was only the sweet melody of Emma's open laughter that stopped her from torturing the blonde. Nobody made fun of her and didn't face the consequences. Except for maybe two people who mattered the most to her, the only two people in the universe that made her life count, made her existence significant. She smirked evilly and bent down to catch Emma's bottom lip in between her teeth. That put a quick stop to the blonde's fun.

The air surrounding them shifted abruptly, yet again. This time Emma had to gasp, much to the satisfaction of the woman pulling at her bottom lip oh so seductively. Their eyes clashed; both turning shades darker. It had been too long...too long since Emma had seen the chocolate in those eyes melt with want so wanton, with desire so crucial, with lust so basic, and with love so infinite.

Her left hand instantly latched onto the dark hairs at the nape of Regina's neck. She tugged on them, pulling her forward. When the brunette's mouth opened to push out a groan of pleasure, Emma wasted no time in strangling it in the midst of its journey. The kiss was fierce and consuming. Her free hand pulled at Regina's shirt and the first two buttons came undone.

Regina had no idea how she survived without Emma's possessive touch in the last month. How could she have denied herself of this mad, crazy, mind-boggling, soul-stirring passion? When the tip of Emma's tongue ran along the underside of Regina's, she moaned loudly. At once her eyes opened wide and she yanked herself back, without notice.

Emma blinked rapidly in haze, confusion and irritation evident in her enlarged eyes. "What?" She asked through clenched teeth.

"Henry," Regina whispered breathlessly.

Emma's irritation increased at that answer. "He is not at home," she replied and tried to pull the brunette back.

Regina absentmindedly dodged at Emma's hand. Her thoughts now full with their son's whereabouts. "Not at home? Where did he go?" Henry usually left a message on her phone.

"To the movies, I think," Emma huffed in annoyance.

Regina stared pointedly at her but didn't say anything. Henry had been dressing pretty impressively lately. In her experience, young teen boys only did that when there was a pretty girl in the picture. "Is he out on a date?"

The blonde's eyes bugged out in surprise. "Seriously? Is he even old enough to date?"

Regina didn't say a word. A look of 'oh really' was enough for the younger woman to recant her question. "He is already fifteen." The brunette sighed heavily as if she had just realized that their son was growing up to be a man. A man, a grown up man, with the psyche of a man, going out on dates...with girls, and...She shuddered and abandoned her thoughts before she could scar her conscience irreparably and forever restrain herself from looking at Henry. "We haven't had the talk with him yet." She exclaimed out of the blue.

"Whaa," Emma's face contorted in something similar to disgust and distaste. She would absolutely never talk to their son about sex. Kids were too smart for their own good these days. They knew everything before they were supposed to, anyway. "He doesn't need the talk. And 'the birds and the bees' talk tradition still exist? Where are we? In 18th century?" She tried to brush off the unease of this topic with humour.

Regina thought about it for a few minutes and agreed. "You are right; Henry is a smart, intelligent boy." She nodded twice in an attempt to assuage her worries. "If he wants to then he knows he can talk to either one of us, right?"

Emma smiled in delight. Motherhood suited her; it added a blissfully divine layer to otherwise perfect persona Regina possessed. It was cute and so adorably sweet the way she worried about the little things related to their son. "Yup, absolutely," she bobbed her head. All of a sudden she voiced a random thought. "Is it wrong of me to revel in the fact that the bees here are being used in reference to men?" She grinned. "I mean, an insect with a sting...that sticks out of its butt, and men..." Her body shook in amusement as she laughed at that stupid thought. "It is such an insult to bees," and she continued giggling, careful of not hurting herself.

Regina admired all the stupid quirks and one of them was Emma's ability to find humour in even the most bizarre things. "You are an idiot," she shook her head. She pushed herself from the ground and stood up; biting at the corner of her bottom lip from cackling herself. "He didn't ask for permission from you?"

Emma still had a pleased grin plastered. She shook her head sideways indicating no. She placed her left palm on the couch and got on her knees, with precision and time. When she pushed herself to stand, despite trying not to, a piercing hiss of pain escaped from her. Her right hand instinctively went to grasp at her abdomen. She felt Regina bend down and gather her in an awkward embrace. She kept her eyes clenched shut in apprehension of any further shot of pain. But none occurred.

Regina's brows drew in with worry. Something was different with Emma's movements this evening. She nodded her head once at the quiet thanks Emma said to her.

"No, he didn't," Emma grunted faintly. "I had just come back when he was leaving."

Emma was too focused on her movements to notice the sudden change in Regina's demeanour. The older woman could only wish it was all in her head. She followed Emma's movements carefully. She was hurting more than yesterday. Her frown deepened and jaw tightened. "You had just come back?"

Emma stopped, her back ramrod straight. She didn't even blink for a few seconds. She knew that tone. It was accusatory, biting, and criticising about her carelessness. She exhaled and dipped her head, dreading the things to come. "What?" She kept her head down, feigning ignorance.

"Don't stall. You had just come back from where, Emma?" Regina straightaway demanded. "Where did you go?"

Emma took a moment to herself. She tried not to cower under Regina's condemning stare. This was so not going to end well. She braced herself, gathered all her remaining energy and faced the brunette head on. "I went to the station," she answered, keeping her tone flat.

Regina gritted her jaw painfully. Sometimes she really didn't understand how it was possible for the woman, who filled her heart with so much love, to make her so blind with pure rage. "But the doctor hasn't cleared you for duty yet," she stated as a matter of fact. She had to restrict herself from physically reacting.

Emma narrowed her eyes at her fiancée at that. Her lips curled a little at corners. "Oh, I think what you mean to say is that you haven't given him the permission to clear me yet, right?" Her eyes were hard, focused on Regina; as long as they both had ammos for accusation.

Regina haughtily pushed her chin up and crossed her arms across her chest. Never one to regret her actions, she chuckled sardonically. "You do know me quite well."

"Hmm, I do."

"So, what happened?"

"What do you mean?" Again Emma foolishly tried not to acknowledge Regina's question.

"Do not try to fool me, Emma," Regina ground out through clenched teeth. She took two steps toward the blonde. "You are flinching more than yesterday. Simple movements are causing you to cringe in pain. So I am asking you, what happened?" Regina's patience was not willing to cooperate if tested further.

Emma tiredly huffed. "Got called in about a brawl, went to defuse it and pulled my stitches. I had to get them redone," she shrugged.

Regina didn't know what to say. Didn't the doctor know who held his fate? She would deal with that moron doctor later. All she could see was red; blinded with fury and utter disbelief at Emma's recklessness. The flippant and casual way she had reacted to her concern threatened to fuel that fire. If at all it was possible to slap some sense in human beings! She was so unbelievably angry that she just wanted to crumble to the ground and cry endlessly. The lump in her throat was heavy. She felt her lips tremble slightly.

"What? What did I do so wrong?" Emma inquired. She genuinely didn't understand and needed an answer to that. She didn't know what she had done wrong. Regina knew her. She knew Emma couldn't just sit at home doing nothing, she knew how stir-crazy it made her.

"How dare you ask me that?" Regina growled dangerously. Her breaths became short and shallow. Eyes wide and midnight black, hands fisted tightly at her sides, "need I remind you? It hasn't even been a month since you took that bullet, Emma," the strain on her voice kept increasing with the sheer attempt of trying to keep her tears at bay. She knew she wouldn't succeed in the end, though. "And it wasn't just a graze, like last two times. You spent nine hours, forty six minutes, and thirty eight seconds in surgery." Regina wasn't surprised that the exact time she had spent pacing those morbid hospital halls was etched in her memory forever. "You have a bandage wrapped around your abdomen and you still have difficulty moving, Emma. Must I go on?"

Emma's job was a sensitive subject for Regina. But she had never seen the brunette on edge like this. "You know me, Regina," Emma made a pleading and helpless sort of gesture. "I can't just sit around doing nothing. I am perfectly fine and I will be as healthy as a horse soon enough." She placed a comforting hand on Regina's shoulder which was shrugged off. "Hey, please don't over-react. Okay?" She tried placating the situation without comforting touches, if that's what Regina wanted.

Regina's eyes were boring in Emma's pleading ones. She had to admit; this woman brought out both the best and the worst out of her. Was it really possible for Emma to not understand the constant dilemma she was in because of her? Was it really too much to ask of her lover to understand the anguish she always went through when Emma got hurt? Every time she had to gather herself up from dust, just to be reduced to it again.

It scared Emma when Regina didn't react at all. She couldn't read those eyes. There were too many conflicting emotions brimming in them. She didn't like it. She didn't like it at all. In what she could only claim as a moment of weakness, she snapped. "Oh, come on, Regina. Stop over-reacting for gods' sake."

Regina's eyes snapped shut. Those tears she had so meticulously kept at bay seeped out of their barrier. She was shaking all over. No more, she had to react physically. Her right hand blindly reached out in all directions. When she had something solid in her hold, she swivelled and hurled it into the dying fire. She absently heard Emma's surprised gasp from behind her. That one single motion seemed to have extracted all of her energy. Lifeless and boneless, she fell on her knees no longer able to fight herself. Her body wracked with heaving sobs of fear, agony, helplessness and far too many dark emotions she cared to admit to. Her hands wrapped around her quivering form.

Emma didn't stop to think. She didn't pay any mind to her wound and kneeled down behind Regina, tightly gathering her in her arms. It wasn't the time for words, so she dutifully remained silent.

Regina had had enough of fighting her fears on her own, enough of keeping them to herself. Immediately with a sense of dedicated resolve, she stopped crying. In a moment of annoyance, through blurry vision, she tried to extricate herself from Emma's hold. After failing twice in her attempts she dug her fingernails in the blonde's arms with intent of causing pain. "Let me go," she warned.

"No," Emma softly declared and to make herself even more obvious, she further tightened her grip. "Baby, please calm down. Talk to me," at this stage she didn't know what more to do than beg. She moved on her knees, in front of Regina, still keeping a firm hold on her shoulders.

Regina, without wasting any second, looked up. Emma was gazing helplessly at her, trying, begging to understand. Her tongue peeked out to bother the scar above her upper lip. She tasted the salt of her tears mixed with sweat. If she had to say what continuous torment tasted like, that would be it.

"Regina," Emma breathed. "Please don't make me just watch you breakdown. Tell me, talk to me." Her desperation devoured every single word of that sentence. "Babe, it's breaking my heart," she choked on a shallow breath.

"What about my heart, huh?" Regina's voice was scratchy and broken. "You willingly jumped in front of a stray bullet." She didn't want to accuse Emma of doing her job but unnecessarily risking her own life was not a part of her work. It was a part of her personality; a part of her lover that she loved and loathed equal amounts. The part that made Emma what she was today, it defined her to an extent that was impossible to ignore.

Emma went with the response that was ingrained in her; due to years of job as a police officer and an instinct that came naturally to her. "Baby, that's my job." But her tone missed the usual confidence and pride she felt about her work. She felt divided, conflicted between two halves of her, unsure in which direction to take the next step.

"You know, in last two years that we have been together, how many times I have gotten a call from the hospital?" It was clearly rhetorical. "And do you know what my first thought is? Or how I feel?" Regina had to stop for a moment. She curled both her fists in Emma's t-shirt. "That gripping fear, the dangling uncertainty, the crippling helplessness, and the hot red, blind rage - when all of them, together, take over the four chambers of my heart, it stops." Her breath turned into a laboured huff as a fresh wave of tears gushed over her soft browns. "My heart stops, Emma. I literally die for a moment there. And then a very tiny, insignificant wave of relief resuscitates me but for what? Just to die again. And to be revived again. And it doesn't stop there. It keeps repeating. Over and over and over," with every word she pounded her frail fists feebly against Emma. " ...and I am tired, Emma. I am so, so tired." She slumped onto the other woman. "I can't take anymore of those calls. I don't think I can deal with this anymore."

Fear. Panic. Alarm. Her body went rigid when she heard those last words. "No," she kept shaking her head. "No, no, no, no way." She held Regina's face and declared fiercely. "You can't leave me." Her eyes darted restlessly in between Regina's. "Babe, please don't leave me. I can't live without you. I won't..." she couldn't finish.

"I didn't say that," Regina whispered determinedly. Emma's face pinched with distress and confusion pulled a derisive chuckle out of the brunette. "It seems I am incapable of doing that, too weak to walk away."

Emma wiped at her nose with her long sleeves, snivelling openly. "Then what are you saying?" Her eyes wide and eager and filled with hope.

"I am saying, I am not good at being afraid. I don't deal well with fear. However long it takes, I fight back. I always fight back." It appeared like some of her resilience still remained in Regina, providing her the strength to carry on. "But this time...

When Regina remained silent, pondering for a few long, agonizing seconds, Emma impatiently interrupted. "This time what, Regina?"

"This time if I fight back, we both lose everything."

"What? Why...how? I don't understand."

Regina set her back straight, still on her knees. Now that she had voiced her fears, now that they were out in the open, would they be easier to deal with? Something told her it really didn't matter. "This time if I fight back, we both lose everything. This time fighting back would mean, forcing you to make a choice."

Emma's hands immediately slid down Regina's face, on their own. She didn't want to hear it. "A choice."

"Your job or your family." Regina's voice was almost inaudible.

"But I can't," Emma whispered helplessly.

"I know," Regina agreed.

Emma found Regina's eyes, desolation evident in them. In a silent agreement they hugged each other close. "What do we do now?"

"Nothing," Regina nuzzled her nose against the soft blond strands. "Absolutely nothing. I don't know how to ask you to make the choice and you don't know how not to do your job. So we carry on, just the way we are."

Emma felt ashamed that a part of her was happy on hearing that. She pulled back a little and levelled her eyes with Regina's. It hurt her to know that she had never paid much attention to how her actions affected the older woman. She was right in calling her careless, reckless, and stupidly ignorant sometimes. Regina always told her to think of the consequences her actions could beget. She had to start, it was not too late. It is never too late. "You will be okay?"

"No and yes," Regina was clearly indecisive. "But what other choice do I have?" She pondered for a minute before adding. "If I am not with you I don't live, I merely exist. And if this is the price I have to pay for a meaningful life, however short or however long, well then I will gladly embrace it. Besides, if you are there to pick up the pieces with me, I most certainly will be okay." Regina's hands wove together around the younger woman's neck. Her brown orbs shone with mirth when those words replayed in her mind. She chortled and shook her head at herself. "And here I thought I wasn't a fan of masochism."

Emma was in absolute awe of her fiancée. She could never imagine her life without Regina. Emma grinned at what the brunette said. Her mind, without her permission went to places that weren't really appropriate in the current setting. She removed her hands from Regina's waist and intertwined her fingers tightly behind her back, not allowing her fingers to fidget. Her eyes darted to those cherry lips. She bent forward and kissed her very softly. When Regina didn't pull back, she went in further to prolong the kiss. And that was when she drew back. "Now what?" She groaned in frustration; damn it this pattern of pulling back just had to stop.

"Do me a favour though," Regina said and Emma hurriedly nodded. "Next time, throw somebody else in front of a stray bullet, okay?"

Emma couldn't figure out if the brunette was serious or joking. She caught her biting her bottom lip. She giggled. "Wow! You have a very dark sense of humour, lady."

"Oh, you didn't get the memo? I am downright evil," Regina playfully sneered.

"Hmmm," Emma narrowed her eyes and pretended to think seriously for a minute. "You would undoubtedly wear the part. And your sultry voice...oh my god, Regina", she closed her eyes and moaned hotly against the brunette's lips. "That would be a combination to die for," the blonde gulped audibly.

Regina smiled at the younger woman's antics. She didn't want to say it but she wasn't keeping anything inside her anymore. "There is something else too." The blonde sobered up instantly. Regina felt bad but she needed to say it, acknowledge it, for her own sanity.

"What?" Emma worriedly asked. "Please, I just don't have it in me to cry anymore, Regina."

"Well, it depends," Regina vaguely replied.

Emma breathed in and out a few times, preparing herself. "Let's just get this over with, okay?"

"One of these days...," Regina kept her eyes trained on Emma in an attempt to gauge every subtle change in her expression. "One of these damned days your good fortune will turn on you. When that happens, and gods forbid, you can't pull through...," she paused to take a breather. "When you finally leave me, don't ask for forgiveness. Don't you dare say you're sorry on your death bed, understand?" What she felt didn't particularly fell under 'sad' but it was close. This particular approach was devious and manipulative in a way but it couldn't hurt to try. And if Emma knew her, all of her, as she so repeatedly claimed, she would get the drift. "That will be your worst betrayal. And I won't forgive you, not ever." She exhaled the breath she had been holding all the while. From what she could see, her fiancée really did know her, inside out.

Emma knew what was expected out of her. When Regina wanted something, she could be astoundingly cunning. She smirked. "May I?" She waited till she got a nod from the brunette. "This is one of my marriage vows to you; which I am saying here in advance and I will repeat it then too, don't worry. I promise I won't leave you. I am not ready to lose you, to lose Henry. I will never be ready for that; especially if it were to happen because of my stupidity. So, if that means I need to do my job a little less awesomely, I promise, I will cut back." Her pearly whites were on full display. "I will never, ever jump in front of a stray bullet. And no, I won't throw somebody else in front of it either."

Regina unexpectedly snorted at that. She could never trade this feeling of belonging for anything; definitely not to quell her exaggerated fears. She had to believe that Emma will always be by her side to catch her. She had to have faith that they both would be there for each other at all times. She blushed faintly and hid her face in Emma's neck. "I love you, Regina." Wisps of Emma's hot breath brushed over the shell of her ear. "So damn much," the blonde added. She heard the younger woman groan faintly when she was suddenly reminded of Emma's stitches.

Regina reached back and loosened the younger woman's hold. Satisfied that the hurt woman wasn't under any kind of duress, she brushed her lips along the available skin in her reach. "And I love you, Emma." She withdrew, wanting to look into her lover's eyes while declaring so. "I love you, more than you could ever fathom." The sweltering lilt that the older woman so effortlessly produced from the base of her throat pulled out yet another groan from the blonde and her eyes rolled back in her head.

The energy field surrounding them crackled and yet again it shifted within seconds. Their lips had only just touched when the front door flew shut and Henry's overjoyed, cheerful voice drifted through the foyer. "Mommies, I am home."

Emma whimpered. She could cry...surprising for her too. But this time it would be for a whole another reason. Basis of this pain, like always would be agony, but a different kind; the kind that simmered in her lower abdomen begging to be doused as soon as possible.

* * *

**I sincerely hope it was worth your time. **

**Your feedback in what ever form you prefer will be very much appreciated, and hopefully could be helpful in future works. **

**Thank you all.**


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